Heat Treat farce

J

jtwodogs

Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
418
This story all starts back during COVID. I had sent some knives to JEFF MUTZ at tru grit abrasives to be HT'ed
He lost them for about 6 months and then found them and then subsequently send them back to the wrong person. We found out who it was, and on my own dime had to pay to get mine shipped back to me. I kinda complained about the total mess and was foolish enough to send 5 AEB-L blades back to him. He worked them up per my request with and supposedly RC of 60-61.
Well I went about finishing the blades and handling them.
Turns out these blades will not take edge. Evidently he got lazy or revenge for complaining Is there anything I can do short ripping the handles off and sending them elsewhere to have them HT'ed again,?
I talked to Scott today at Tru Grit and he said there was nothing he could do. He's been fired. Evidently I'm not the only one he has done this to.
 
Sorry to hear this happened to you. If the heat treat is bad...no. You will have to pull the handles off and have them re-processed.

I stick with Peters' because they are an industry leader, partially for this reason. If the heat treat is wrong they make it right.
 
navman said:
Sorry to hear this happened to you. If the heat treat is bad...no. You will have to pull the handles off and have them re-processed.

I stick with Peters' because they are an industry leader, partially for this reason. If the heat treat is wrong they make it right.
Click to expand...
^This

I would add that if your finish grinding took them down below the thickness of a dime, they might be too thin too successfully heat treat. The edge could get the dreaded bacon warp. Some stainless steels are less forgiving when you try to heat treat them a second time without proper thermal cycling. With all the work of putting new handles on them, you are probably better off starting fresh.
 
They need to be annealed, not thermal cycled, before re heat treating.

Stainless steels can be taken down to final dimension, for the most part, because the quench (air or plates) is not as harsh as oil/water. Before I started heat treating my own knives, I would send AEB-L blades to Peter's with edge thicknesses well below 0.010" without any issues.
 
I kinda figured that was my only option. But my tale was 2 fold.
I wanted to get his name out there, because according to Scott he is working out of his home.
Scott says people are still calling tru Grit even now that they sent blades to his house but can't get them back, expecting tru grit to do something about it.
 
jtwodogs said:
This story all starts back during COVID. I had sent some knives to JEFF MUTZ at tru grit abrasives to be HT'ed
He lost them for about 6 months and then found them and then subsequently send them back to the wrong person. We found out who it was, and on my own dime had to pay to get mine shipped back to me. I kinda complained about the total mess and was foolish enough to send 5 AEB-L blades back to him. He worked them up per my request with and supposedly RC of 60-61.
Well I went about finishing the blades and handling them.
Turns out these blades will not take edge. Evidently he got lazy or revenge for complaining Is there anything I can do short ripping the handles off and sending them elsewhere to have them HT'ed again,?
I talked to Scott today at Tru Grit and he said there was nothing he could do. He's been fired. Evidently I'm not the only one he has done this to.
Click to expand...
I sent 2 AEB-L knives over to them I think in 2021 before I started heat treating my own stuff.

I followed up after a few weeks and didn’t get an answer, followed up again at some point and didn’t get an answer.

Then after 6 months of waiting got an email asking what steel were the blanks.

I promptly replied and I’ve never seen the blades again.

I’ve given up hope of seeing them. If one day they show up then they show up.

I do my own heat treating now and offer my services to those who need them.
 
Thescrawnylumberjack said:
I sent 2 AEB-L knives over to them I think in 2021 before I started heat treating my own stuff.

I followed up after a few weeks and didn’t get an answer, followed up again at some point and didn’t get an answer.

Then after 6 months of waiting got an email asking what steel were the blanks.

I promptly replied and I’ve never seen the blades again.

I’ve given up hope of seeing them. If one day they show up then they show up.

I do my own heat treating now and offer my services to those who need them.
Click to expand...
 
I have 2 blades the handles need to be removed could you do them? I can send you pics of them to see if you could do them
 
Follow up ?. can anyone suggest a way to loosen the epoxy to get the handles off without hurting the steel?
I was thinking oven but what temp?
 
I usually grind the pins and scales down then pry the handle off. Not the most effective way...but strangely satisfying. Allows me to take out my frustration I n the offending handle on a very destructive way. Never had a issue with harming the blade.
 
The oven will break down the epoxy easily. After baking at 300°F for an hour or so, a sharp knife inserted between the tang and scale should lift it right of. Wear gloves, of course. It may smell, so using a junk toaster oven outside is wise. Depending on the type of epoxy, boiling may not loosen the scales, but it won't hurt to try. I think you will need to boil the handles for at least 30-45 minutes.

As moderator here and advisor to a lot of folks asking questions about where to get HT done, I want to find out more about the situation with Tru-Grit and these HT fiascos.
I have done some online research and was shocked to see that this is a big problem. AI searches are not kind at all to Tru-Grit over this issue. It seems Tru-Grit isn't taking any responsibility at all. They discontinued their HT business in January and just tell people to contact Jeff Mutz to find out where their blades are. This is shockingly bad business behavior.
Two Questions for those who have had blades done by Tru-Grit:
1) Were the blades mailed to Tru-Grit or to Jeff Mutz directly?
2) If the services were paid for, did you pay Tru-Grit or Jeff Mutz?
 
While I know this is blade smithing heiresy.
Took one of the blades I already handled and finished that wouldn't take an edge. Submersed the handle in ice water took a propane torch and heated the blade edge till cherry red. Then submersed the edge in peanut oil.
Went through the sharpening process. It's a razor.
While I know without proper tempering it will never make it to the field, but it will be a good kitchen knife.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The oven will break down the epoxy easily. After baking at 300°F for an hour or so, a sharp knife inserted between the tang and scale should lift it right of. Wear gloves, of course. It may smell, so using a junk toaster oven outside is wise. Depending on the type of epoxy, boiling may not loosen the scales, but it won't hurt to try. I think you will need to boil the handles for at least 30-45 minutes.

As moderator here and advisor to a lot of folks asking questions about where to get HT done, I want to find out more about the situation with Tru-Grit and these HT fiascos.
I have done some online research and was shocked to see that this is a big problem. AI searches are not kind at all to Tru-Grit over this issue. It seems Tru-Grit isn't taking any responsibility at all. They discontinued their HT business in January and just tell people to contact Jeff Mutz to find out where their blades are. This is shockingly bad business behavior.
Two Questions for those who have had blades done by Tru-Grit:
1) Were the blades mailed to Tru-Grit or to Jeff Mutz directly?
2) If the services were paid for, did you pay Tru-Grit or Jeff Mutz?
Click to expand...
My blades were sent to tru grit before last January before Mutz departure. I guess this was part of his end days were he was jacking up blades and pushing them out.
Scott from tru grit said they were still getting calls after he left. People were upset that they had sent blades to his home never to hear back from him.

On a side note I do remember when I got the blades back I file tested a couple and question the ht. Since I didn't have a hardness tester I called Mutz, and question him. He assured me all blades were tested and met my desire of 60-61 RC
 
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